Law enforcement and women Essay

There has always been a stereotype separating men and women. Such as, women are not efficient enough to have a job in law enforcement and men are. Many people do not agree with this stereotype or have a different opinion towards it which can cause a disagreement between genders.

The majority of people who disagree with women being in law enforcement are men. Morgan Summerfield, a yahoo contributor says, “Law enforcement has traditionally been a male dominated field and as such may have been slower than others to accept females into its ranks.

” Men do not accept women in law enforcement because the believe women are the “weaker sex” (1) and belong at home with their children or attending to their family or house duties. Summerfield also says, “ Male domination in law enforcement and the idea that force and strength are required, reinforces the belief that women are unable both physically and mentally to do the job.” Travis county, Texas, Sheriff Margo Fraiser disagrees. Fraiser says, “We’ve been learning our whole lives how to deal with things without having to resort to physical strength and physical violence.

I think the thing we most bring in is the ability to handle situations without ever having to lay hands on.” Sure, women might be the “weaker sex” (Summerfield 1) when it comes to physical activity but that does not mean we can not be the “stronger sex” (Summerfield 1) in other aspects of law enforcement. Just as there are people who disagree with women in law Martinez 2 enforcement there are also people who believe women are capable of being good candidates for a role in law enforcement.

Morgan Summerfield from yahoo contributor is one who sees both sides to this stereotype even though she disagrees in some ways she also agrees. Summerfield says, “Women and law enforcement do mix, in fact they are a necessary, if sometimes missing, ingredient.” In support the Christopher commission agrees with Summerfield. The Christopher commission investigated the beating of Rodney G. King in 1991. In conclusion, they reported, “That women officers did not employ excessive force as often as their male counterparts. Male and Female officers interviewed for the report said they thought women were better skilled at defusing confrontations with suspects through verbal communication.” Due to the results of this investigation Mayor James K. Hahn agreed that women brought the department a good name. Hahn says, “I think for too many years we were trying to fight the battle with one arm tied behind our back. We weren’t taking advantage of the tremendous number of qualified women who could make that contribution to the department.” There are many people who agree with women in law enforcement who are disappointed in the lack of female presence in law enforcement.

They want females for a reason and that is because women do contribute something to law enforcement that men can not. That is the sense of understanding towards female victims. Atia Moazzema Shammi, from women feature scene says, “The lack of female presence in the law enforcement machinery is of significance since the police administration suggested recently that female police should investigate crimes of violence against women. In many cases, women victims are too shy to talk to the male policeman – a fact that comes in the way of fair investigation.”

Even though there are people who believe women should not be allowed to have a job in law enforcement. They should mot base that on what men believe about women. If women are strong enough and meet the requirements for the job they should have the right to have a career in law enforcement. If women are just as passionate as men are in law enforcement, what makes them different? Besides, the opinions of others. As Hilda Munoz, from the Los Angeles Times says, “We want to have a few scarred knees; we’re going to fall down few times. We have a right to fail like males fail.” If males can fail at something they are good at or enjoy doing women should also be able to have the chance to fail.

Women in law enforcement is always going to be a stereotype that might not be able to change. Men are always going to believe women are too weak or are not physically or mentally prepared for a job in law enforcement. There is also going to be those who see the qualities that women have and only women can bring to a job in law enforcement. There is always going to be many different views, thoughts, and opinions on women in law enforcement.

Works Cited
1. Munoz, Hilda “ON THE LAW; Working to Get More Police Officers; Women have made significant progress in several levels, but their numbers in law enforcement remain disproportionally low: [Home Edition].” Los Angeles Times 30 May 2003: B2 . Print . 2. Shammi, Atia Moazzema “Feminising Law Enforcement.” Womens Feature Service 14 Jan 2002: (NP) . Print.